Whatever number of teeth your child has, you certainly need access to best quality toothpaste for his dental hygiene. Most parents would look for a gentle formula recommended by dentists, pediatricians, and pharmacists to clean teeth.

For the little ones who love fruit flavours, Oriflame brought a flavourful toothpaste Optifresh Kids in Strawberry taste. The bright red coloured gel paste looks so lovely that it can simply get those locked jaws open easily ;)

The tube is decorated with happy croc and comes in a small 50ml tube so that it easier for kids to handle. Attractive, colourful packaging like this one really interests children.

I first tested the toothpaste myself and found that it's a very soothing treatment to the gums and teeth. It's best suited for first time brushing and for the sensitive gums.

It doesn't foam like the ones that we adults use. But I think a pea-size quantity is sufficient for kids to clean their little teeth, else they swallow a part of it. The child should be supervised by any of the parents to spit out and rinse the mouth after brushing.

This toothpaste doesn't cause damage to natural enamel of the teeth neither it gives any white spots on teeth arising due to excess fluoride rather it contains minimal amount of fluoride that benefit developing teeth of kids.

For the age group of 2-6 yrs, Optifresh toothpaste provides an active defense system against bacteria and promotes a habit of daily brushing for shiny, white teeth of your little ones.

– Contest closes on 28th September, 2017.
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– The winners will be required to acknowledge receiving their prize and share the picture.

Monday, 18 September 2017

Enjoy the festive, fun-filled month of September by creating some quick and easy recipes at home! Indulge in the finger-licking recipes, specially curated for the festive season by Chef Gaurav Chadha, In-house Chef, Dr. Oetker India Pvt. Ltd. FunFoods by Dr. Oetker promises you a good time this festive season!

Having belonged to the education industry for more than one and a half decades now, I strongly advocate the fact that children should be imparted with knowledge of 'health and hygiene' above and beyond tutoring them for essential subjects in schools. And by way of that, not just enhance the scholastic curriculum, but empower the children with good habits of maintaining high degree of personal hygiene since young age.

Ideally, the school authorities and parents should team up for a collaborative effort that ensures forming a defence system against diseases that pose serious risk to children's health. The checklist that can help battle poor hygiene in smarter ways includes:

Scrub Those Germs Away:
Guide your child to wash his hands at critical times like before eating food, after using the toilet, after coughing or sneezing, and after handling the garbage bin. Instilling this habit significantly eliminates the probability of various bugs that might make your child fall sick. I personally recommend packing dermatologist tested, alcohol-free hand sanitizing wipes in your child's school bag that can be used for routine cleaning, in case of non-accessibility of water.

Personal Hygiene:
Good hygiene habits should be introduced to children in primary schooling age even if they don't completely understand how staying clean can greatly impact the quality of life. Parents should help imbibe basic grooming habits in their children by behaving and acting in an ideal manner themselves. Simple everyday rituals like brushing your teeth, taking a shower, changing clothes, clipping fingernails etc. should be religiously practised. This will ensure that kids do not fall prey to communicable diseases or skip school/studies.

Besides, with so many diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria around, it is a must to use personal outdoor mosquito protection, as these diseases are spread by day biting mosquitoes. Make it a habit to apply mosquito repellents before stepping out.

While kids might not be comfortable with sticky creams, encourage them to use the Good knight Fabric Roll-On, an innovative mosquito repellent for all day long protection at school. Just need to apply 4 dots on their clothes and they are protected from mosquitoes for up to 8 hours.

It is 100% natural and paediatrician certified making it completely safe for use. The best part is that it needs to be applied on clothes, and not on your skin (it is non-staining).

Clean Toilets/Restrooms:

Children have a right to basic facilities such as clean school toilets. The school administration must ensure availability of water in the toilets on a regular basis. The areas like wash basins, soap dispensers, door knobs, handles etc. should be disinfected by the school crew members on a daily basis to avoid spread of germs. The issue of stinking odour within the vicinity of toilets/restrooms should be handled by spraying air fresheners after sweeping and mopping.

Garbage Disposal:
Within the school campus, a lot of waste material gets collected in bins by the end of the day that becomes one of the main reason for various bacterial diseases and respiratory allergies. These dumping grounds can also become a hotspot for disease-causing mosquitoes. The school may conduct an eco-awareness activity among students to dig garbage pits away from the classroom area where they can dump this waste and allow it to decompose into manure. Not only will this add up to the learning aspect, but will also prevent outbreak of infectious ailments among children.

Dealing with Illness:
Despite practising correct sanitation guidelines, if you suspect that your child might be exposed to unclean surroundings while off to school or if he/she has earlier demonstrated symptoms of weakened immune system, precautionary measures must be taken beforehand.

Parents should get their child vaccinated during the time of year when they tend to fall ill. Strictly avoid sending your child to school if he shows signs of being unwell because the shared spaces and supplies facilitate quick transmission of germs from one student to another.

Being major contributors of a child's well-being, parents and school authorities can greatly influence behavioural pattern of children and ensure that they exercise optimal hygiene habits to enhance the longevity of a healthy life.

Sunday, 17 September 2017

I'm much of a lipstick devotee, if one has to pick the most adorable cosmetic item. That's one reason I keep on hunting newer shades and better formula every now and then. Today I have to show you my newest lipsticks from Oriflame.About The ONE 5-in-1 Colour Stylist Lipstick Intense Collection:
Be brave and go bold with the intense colour lipstick trend, by experimenting with latest vibrant shades. Rich and nourishing lipsticks in intense shades, semi-matte finishes and lasting colours.

The lipsticks have traditional bullet styled packaging that comes in a cardboard box. The outer box will quickly sum up all the info regarding shade number, shade name, mfg/expiry date, ingredient list etc.
The lipstick bullet itself prints shade no. and shade name at its bottom. The bullet cap shuts with a click and doesn't open loose as you turn it upside down.

Shades Available:

The ONE 5-in-1 Colour Stylist Lipstick Intense currently offers 6 shades, all bright and vibrant. I so love the catchy shade names (mentioned in the individual images).

Rose Ray is a shade that looks rich to create a polished look.

Orange Pop is a gorgeously beautiful shade to brighten your face. There was a time I used to shy away from such shades and thought it would make me look darker, but I swear I love it so so much now. I somehow feel happier that just a swipe or two of this lipstick adds life to my overall look on any day

Flamingo Fuschia is a dazzling shade of pink that goes with outfit of any colour easily when its hard to decide what shade to apply. I actually get compliments everytime when it gives a intense glow to my face.

Vivid Violet is a shade of violet with a prominent hint of pink to it when applied to lips. I probably tried this shade for the first time and I'm yet to convince myselfwhether it actually suits my complexion. I would have loved it if it showed up with more darker tone of purple.

Sunset Red is my absolute favourite as an everyday wearable shade. I have a deep inclination towards such warm shades. This one is perfect for women of any age group and beautifully enhances charm of darker skin tones too. My mom liked it the best ;)

Coral Burst has to be a must-have for those who neither wear deep shades like maroons and browns nor flaunt blazing shades like fuschia. It looks striking on most Indian skin tones including fair, medium to dark.

The ONE 5-in-1 Colour Stylist Lipstick Intense Collection has all rich shades which look cheerful and seductive ;) What I miss in the range is the shades like brown/copper/chocolate/berry. The lipsticks offer nice coverage in two swipes. It's a creamy and smooth formula that goes on lips absolutely easily and is comfortable to wear. My lips feel hydrated all the time it stays on lips and there is no need of moisturizing your lips before application of these lipsticks. But the downside is that it transfers easily, becuase it doesn't settle to matte finish. This also limits the staying time to around 4 hrs max. The lipsticks have mild scent that can be smelt from the product directly, but is not felt when worn on lips (which is a plus for me). Each of the lipstick is 4g in qty and the shelf life is 3 yrs. Can be ordered here at Rs 550 each.

For me, this collection of lipsticks fares good enough in most criteria including shades, shine, price etc; I wish it could have stayed bit longer (but would find those two minutes to touch up to look stunning).

Activelle anti-perspirant deodorant is a roll-on format of deoderants that comes in a chic curvy packaging. It's a white coloured plastic bottle with a skyblue colored screw cap. The curve in the middle of the bottle aids in better grip while you rub it. The tiny size of roll-on makes it ideal for hand luggage when travelling.

The bottle cap, when unscrewed, shows a crystal ball-like mechanism on the bottle head that rotates when you roll it over your skin.

The best way to apply the roll-on deoderants is to wash and pat dry the body part that is more prone to perspire (usually armpits are target area for a roll on, but do try it under your feet if you sweat excessively in your shoes and need a good product to fight foul smell), shake the bottle a few times and roll it on the skin with adequate pressure in circular motion. Make sure you neither apply it on wet skin and also let it air-dry to enhance the longevity.

Activelle deoderant has lovely floral fragrance that instantly refreshes you without being over-powering. The fragrance doesn't lasts for 24 hours as claimed, but keeps you odour-free for good number of hours and then you need to reapply (depends on personal experience though).

It didn't cause me any stickyness, irritation, rashes or allergic reactions. It gets completely invisible post application and doesn't leave any stains on dark coloured clothes that makes it a great plus for me. If you worry about darkeneing of armpit area after using a roll-on, it showed me no such signs of changing my skin tone at all.

Activelle has many reasons for it to own to reduce sweat and odour cuasing bacteria. It's a pocket-friendly product for every day use that is easily available in online stores and local shops for Rs 199 for 50 ml.

Are you a fan of roll-on type of anti-perspirants or prefer spray format? While this debate stands open, I'll come up soon with a dedicated post of Body Sprays :)

Pro Tip: Try using this product to curb sweat and smell behind your knees, bikini line or even under your breasts; you'll be amazed by the result ;)

Tuesday, 29 August 2017

Fuschia soaps have been my most preferred ones among the exhaustive products that the brand has to offer. I must say they have a widest variety of handmade natural soaps to choose from and every single soap variant is made up of natural ingredients without any harmful chemicals. So, one can safely rely on the quality that these soaps offer without causing any harm to your skin.

I received and used two of the variants of Fuschia soaps last month that is in Yogurt Delight and Orange Peel.

As I received these soaps, the first thing I noticed was the improved packaging. I had been using Fuschia soaps since years now and I can recall the packaging used to be of handmade colourful paper in older times. The newer version of packaging has got a nice brown cardboard box with a beautifully printed label on it to refer to its variant name and ingredients list. The soap bars inside in box are properly sealed in cellophane sheet to preserve its hygiene and fragrance.

Each of the soap bars is large enough to hold in your hand easily. I prefer rectangular shaped soap bars over round, oval, square ones for they tend not to slip easily due to fine grip (it may be my individual choice).

Both the soap variants have mild yet refreshing fragrance. The fragrance is short-lived and doesn’t last after you step out from shower. But I’m ok with it as I don’t sweat much and have no issues like body odour to fight with ;)

I found the soaps not-so-quick to melt as compared to natural soaps from other brands which easily melt and finish off quite soon. The texture of Fuschia soaps also aids that these do not lose their shape till the end. These soaps make your skin feel clean from the top and moisturized from deep inside. The finest ingredients gone into the formula include many nourishing oils, fruits n vegetable extracts and ofcourse the glycerine base. All this helps to retain skin’s natural oils intact without making the skin dry, itchy or scratchy. This is all I want in my soap bar.

The nutrients and anti-oxidants present in Orange Peel soap are very potent in healing many skin conditions. Using this soap regularly keeps the skin toned and free from acne.

On the other hand, Yogurt Delight soap is rich in antibacterial properties and provides instant glow to your skin by removing dirt, dead skin and all kinds of impurities from deep inside the skin.

Each of the soap bars is priced at Rs. 250 which is worth paying for a cruelty-free, chemical-free product that is must-have for everyday bath and body essential to keep the skin healthy and glowing.

Is polluted environment making your skin dull and unappealing? Well no need to worry anymore because Fuschia presents you paraben and phthalate free Sunscreen Matte Gel . The blend of aloe vera, olive oil and licorice extract are perfect to harmonize your skin & protection against sun-induced skin damages. Aloevera and olive oil cure the damage caused by sun rays & can treat sunburns as easily as it can slow down the aging of the skin. SunCat DE acts as a sunscreen agent, anti-oxidant, anti-aging and protective agent. This attractive new sunscreen matte gel gets absorbed in your skin instantly and protects adequately from UVA & UVB rays.

Fuschia Sunscreen Matte Gel comes in a small plastic bottle in white colour. There is black screw cap on bottle with flip opening over the top. The spout enables easy dispense of product. The information like ingredient list, mfg date, shelf life, price etc. is printed on the bottle label.

The texture of the sunscreen is of a moderately thick cream. The term ’gel’ used in the product name sounds misleading to me as the product is not gel-like either in texture or appearance. Despite the consistency, the sunscreen spreads easily on skin and gets absorbed as you massage it into skin with gentle strokes.

The product stands to its claims of ‘matte’ effect. You will notice that the product leaves no shiny, greasy layer on the top surface of your skin after it sinks into skin. It may serve as a great choice for people who struggle picking a suitable product for their oily skin. For people like me whose skin is more on drier side, the product may be bit more drying so a layer of moisturizer underneath will make the feel of sunscreen much comfortable on skin.

The sunscreen smells really nice, that’s something sweet and floral which most people would like. The smell is not sharp or overpowering, but cannot be considered mild too. Only people who are extremely sensitive to fragrances may find it strong, else it’s an easy-to-go-with kinda fragrance for most people.

Fuschia Sunscreen Matte Gel is formulated with SPF 30 for UVA and UVB protection which could have been on higher content, but is reasonably enough for sun protection in warmer regions like ours.

Now coming to the affordability of the product, I feel Rs 450 for a 50ml packaging will certainly pinch pockets of many of us (though the brand keeps on offering certain percentage of discount on its products regularly).

To sum up, Fuschia Sunscreen Matte Gel SPF 30 is a decent choice for a quality product that is worth an addition in your beauty kit atleast once and can be repurchased if gels well with your skin type :)